Case Study:To Rise Supplies

How To Rise Supplies Uses Inform ERP to Compete Among Giants

“Inform has made everything we do more precise.”

Jorge Salcedo started his New York City-based distribution business with just a trash bag and an idea—to provide next day delivery of plastic and paper supplies to restaurants with 24/7 customer service, no minimum orders and no additional storage or delivery fees. Just seven years later, To Rise Supplies has doubled their sales and competes amidst industry giants.

Building from Data

From the beginning, Jorge Salcedo knew that data was one of the most important commodities his businesses had. Data would not only help him identify which products to sell and how much inventory to stock for, but it would also provide critical insights for the massive growth To Rise aimed to achieve.

Data wasn’t Jorge’s only challenge. Inventory management was an issue as well. “Our business model is built on providing a next-day delivery guarantee, requiring us to be on top of our forecasting game,” says Salcedo. “Forecasting was becoming increasingly challenging with each new customer due to our limited systems and lack of data around sales, net profit and tracking margins,” Salcedo adds.

Generating approximately $2.5 million in revenue, Salcedo quickly recognized that relying on outdated Excel spreadsheets and QuickBooks to collect and analyze data was no longer effective. Additionally, it significantly hindered To Rises’ ability to meet their goals and compete against larger distributors.

“We knew we were making money, but we didn’t know if we were losing merchandise, increasing our margins or selling more products,” said Jorge. “We love when we’re selling, selling, selling, but it’s not how much you sell, it’s how much you get to keep. That was our goal: to keep more money in the company’s pocket—not just to sell more.”